Setting: Two random members of the Tsuruya-tachi, let’s call them A(kito) and B(unkichi) for convenience’s sake, are sitting at the bar and having a drink in a place all but owned by the organization they belong to.
| A | : | …speaking of Kyon-dono, what do you think of the new girl he brought in? |
| B | : | The new girl? Ah, do you mean Asakura-san? |
| A | : | I don’t know her name. Is she the one with the long blue hair and–? |
| B | : | Yes, that’s her. |
| A | : | I noticed she was wearing a pin. What does she do? |
| B | : | *raises a eyebrow* You don’t know? |
| A | : | Well, she was wearing one of the suits and she doesn’t seem the type for labour. Management? |
| B | : | You really…? Oh! That’s right. They sent you out of town last week. Wanna guess again? |
| A | : | Not in the mood for your games. Just tell me. |
| B | : | Yojimbo. |
| A | : | Bodyguard? Really? Assigned to whom? |
| B | : | *smirks* |
| A | : | You little– Alright, I’ll play, but you’re paying for my drinks if I got it right. Deal? |
| B | : | Deal. You got three guesses. |
| A | : | She’s guarding Tsuruya-hime. Being both of them girls around the same age, it’s easier for her to remain close. |
| B | : | Good guess, but that’s not it. Two left. |
| A | : | Really? Let me see… How about this: Asakura is guarding that girl we got out of the hands of those Sumiyoshi-rengo. What was her name again? |
| B | : | Sasaki-chan… but wrong again. Last try. |
| A | : | *thinks to himself for a while, plays with his glass of whisky* I got it. It was a tricky question. Asakura was assigned as a “plant” to Tsuruya-hime and Kyon-dono’s school. She’s supposed to remain as a “sleeping” back-up unless something comes up. |
| B | : | Three strikes and out! |
| A | : | *rolls eyes* Alright, you got me. Just spill it. |
| B | : | Kyon-dono. |
| A | : | ......what? That can’t be right. Why would he need a bodyguard? You sure she’s not his personal assistant or something? |
| B | : | I think she does a little of that too, but I heard she’s getting “danger pay” and everything. |
| A | : | That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t think a girl looking like that would be any good in a fight–… wait. Don’t you think she could be....? |
| B | : | Be what? |
| A | : | You know, his… *ambiguous gesture* |
| B | : | *looks around, whispers* Watch your mouth, you fool. *normal voice* Nope, she’s the real deal. From the moment you didn’t know who she was, I knew you missed the news about the show. That was something else. |
| A | : | The show? |
| B | : | Yep. Kyon-dono seemed to know that it would be difficult to believe that he of all people would put someone like her watching his back. So, the first time he brought her along to the Towers, he presented her to guys. Nothing big, just a quick introduction to whoever happened to be in the lounge at the time, like me. |
| A | : | What happened? |
| B | : | At first, nothing. Even though everybody thought about it, no one wanted to be the first to question the Kowa-Keigo to his face. So, he told us how the two of them were taught to fight by the same person. Now that got everybody curious. |
| A | : | I can see why. The past of our boy is kind of a riddle for the ages. All clean and boring on the surface, but nobody like that should know how to do what he does. The most people got was that he has an uncle working for the Sonozaki-gumi in the North. |
| B | : | Well, his next words were even better, and I quote, “unlike me though, she’s the talented one.” |
| A | : | ...... |
| B | : | Precisely. Then he turned to her and asked her if any among us were carrying a gun. She looked at us and pointed to Jin. |
| A | : | Easy guess. Jin is always packing heat. |
| B | : | Well, yeah. But that’s not the crazy part. He asked Jin to point his gun at him for a quick demonstration. He, of course, refused, but Kyon-dono insisted and said to not worry about it. Coming from a guy who didn’t seek revenge on the little shits that shot at him at the cinema, perhaps he really doesn’t think anything of someone taking aim at him. |
| A | : | And probably he was wearing a vest, too. |
| B | : | Could be, but the thing is, Jin nodded. I think he was really curious about what the little boss wanted to prove with that. The rest of us took a few steps away from potential line of fire, but neither of them moved. I knew for a fact that Jin uses a shoulder holster under the suit, but he surprised me when he… |
| A | : | He…? Get over with it, will you? |
| B | : | Hey! I like to put some extra suspense into my stories. |
| A | : | It’s annoying. |
| B | : | Alright, alright. It went like this: Jin drew a gun from his back. I’m guessing he had an especially built holster strapped there or something. Whatever the case, before I truly realized what was going on, the girl was already next to him and with one of those blink-and-you-miss-it maneuvers she took the gun from him, removed the magazine, emptied the chamber by the ejection port and pressed the barrel against his jaw. |
| A | : | Seriously? It sounds like something out of a Jet Li movie. |
| B | : | Yeah. The only thing missing was her saying “bang, bang” just to rub it in. For who knows how long everybody just stood there, frozen. The first to move was Kyon-dono, who walked to them, picked up the magazine and the discarded bullet from the floor, handed them to Jin, thanked him for his cooperation and apologized for the inconveniences. He especially stressed the last part while looking at her, so I’m guessing she wasn’t supposed to show off that much. |
| A | : | It’s all that–? |
| B | : | The truth? Yes. I was there, remember? My favourite part is when he next asked her to put that away, pointing at her hand not holding the gun. |
| A | : | Why? |
| B | : | She had a combat knife pressed against Jin’s gut. No one there, not even the guy himself noticed until Kyon-dono mentioned aloud. The girl giggled at that, a sound I won’t be forgetting for a while, gave Jin his gun back and then she took her post behind Kyon-dono and to his left with a twirl. |
| A | : | Is she…? |
| B | : | Stab-happy as they come? I don’t know for sure and I want to remain that way in case something happens and people come asking questions. It’s known that she gets along very well with Nagato-san, though. |
| A | : | Which explains a lot and opens even more questions. I wonder where he does even find these kind of girls. |
| B | : | And how he keeps them loyal. It reminds me of that Indian king who had hundreds of super-elite warrior women watching his back, Chandra-something-or-another in the 300 BC. |
| A | : | *raises one eyebrow, incredulously* |
| B | : | What? I’m a very well-read person, you know. |
| A | : | *raises both eyebrows, more incredulously* |
| B | : | … fine. I read about it once in BadassOfTheWeek.com. Happy? |
| A | : | That’s more like it *finishes his drink* |
§
Just in case it wasn’t clear enough, this snippet is a what-if scenario about how un-chibied!Asakura joining the Tsuruya-tachi could go. In her defense, Kyon asked Ryouko to present herself as capable and intimidating as possible to keep people from asking question about her. She… complied.